Roll polishing rig



Dec. R GROVE ROLL POLISHING RIG Filed Aug. 27, 1929 4 Shets-fiheet l Dec. 13, 1932. R, GROVE ROLL POLISHING RIG 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Aug. 27, 1929 INVENTOR" R.fi[6rave ATTORNEYS Dec. R, R E

ROLL POLISHING RIG Filed Aug. 27, 1929 4 Sheets-Sheet 5 ATTOIRNEYS Dec, 13 1932. GROVE 1,891,152

ROLL POLISHING RIG Filed Aug. 27, 1929 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 INVENTOR Y Rafi rave ATTORNEYS Patented Dec. 13, 1932 UNITED. STATES V BOY H. GROVE, OF VANDEBGBII'T, PENNSYLVANIA ROLL POLISHING RIG A rqililcation filed. August 27, 1929. Serial No. 388,782.

This invention relates to apparatus for polishing rolls such as are employed in sheet and tin plate rolling mills and, among other objects, aims to provide a greatly simplified, relatively inexpensive and very eflic1ent 1nstallation which can be applied to a mill w1thout any material alterations. A further object is to provide improved mechan sm continuously and simultaneously to POllSh both rolls while they are in operation, the polishing stones being so mounted as to pol1sh the rolls true and being arranged so as not to 1nterfere with the operations of the workmen.

Other aims and advantages of the invention will appear in the specification when considered in connection with the illustrative embodiment thereof shown in the accompanying drawings, wherein:

Fig. 1 is a vertical sectional view through polishers applied to the rolls;

Fig. 2 is an end elevation of the mill and the operating mechanism for the pol shers;

Fig. 3 is a rear elevation of the m1ll showing the polishers applied to the lower roll;

Fig. 4 is a rear elevation drawn on a larger scale than Fig. 3 and showing the stone holders and their supports;

Fig. 5 is a longitudinal sectional view taken on the line 5-5 of Fig. i;

Fig. 6 is a fragmentary sectional view taken on the line 6-6 of Fig. 2; and

Fig. 7 is a sectional view taken on the line 7'? of Fig. 4 and also showing a fragmentary section of a roll.

In sheet rolling mills it is important that the roll surfaces shall be uniformly and highly polished in order to produce sheets of like surface characteristics. '1 he apparatus here 40 tofore proposed for this purpose has not been satisfactory for a number of reasons. In many instances the stone carrying rigs are supported on the fixed mill frame and the stones cannot be used effectively on the upper roll of the mill when it rises or moves to its upper limit because the polishing surface will not fit properly against the roll surface. Moreover, the stone or stones spall or break at their edges and produce objectionable streaks on the roll. Also, when the stones on a sheet mill showing the preferred form of the upper roll break or spall, these pieces usually fall upon the upper surface of the entering sheet, thus marking or pitting the roll surface and causing it to be unfit for further rolling until it is re-surfaced. Further, the stone holders are not usually designed to be removed quickly so that the stones can be cleaned when they become glazed and also the apparatus is sometimes so placed that it seriously interferes with the work of tong men.

When the old hand-operated apparatus is used, the rolling operation must stop during the time the rolls are being polished. ThlS means that the productive capacity of each mill is considerably reduced, due to such delays. In fact, a survey shows no practicable and dependable apparatus which will polish both upper and lower rolls continuously and accurately has yet been introduced 1n the industry. This invention therefore, aims to provide a relatively simple and el1'i-- cacious polishing rig designed for continuous operation and so constructed and arranged as to eliminate practically all of the drawbacks of the hand-operated apparatus now in common use.

Referring particularly to the drawings, the preferred form of polishers are there shown as being applied to a sheet or tin plate mill of conventional design in which a pair of rolls 10 are mounted in a frame or housing 11, one roll being above the other and being vertically movable to accommodate sheets or plates of difierent thicknesses. The usual brasses l2 and rider blocks 13 are mounted above the journaled ends of the upper roll.

In the present example, the polishing rig for the upper roll is suspended from the riders 13 so as to move up and down as the so roll moves and thereby keeps the stones in the same relative positions with respect to the roll surface. Although the suspension means may be widely varied, it is here shown as including a pair of horizontal arms 1% having hooked or notched ends 15 detachably and pivotally mounted on stub shafts or stud bolts 16 projecting from the inner faces of the riders, the arrangement being such that the rig may be quickly removed by lifting the forward ends of the arms and pushing them rearwardly until the notches disengage the stud bolts (Fig. 1). A guide rod or bar 17 is suspended from the arms 14 by means of a pair of links or arms 18 pivotally secured to suitable ears or lugs 19 on the arms 14, the arrangement being such that the guide bar 17 will be supported in front of the upper roll with its axis in a substantially horizontal diametrical plane through the roll. As will be seen in Fig. l, the arms 18 are bent L-shaped to present horizontal extensions 20 providing handles 21 at their forward ends and these extensions are adjustably secured by means of suitable eye bolts 22 and lugs 23 to the forward ends of the arms 14 so as to permit suiticient adjustment to compensate for the wear of the roll, the brasses and other related parts and thereby keep the guide bar in its proper position relative to the roll. Thus, the arms 14 and the extensions 20 constitute weighted levers to press the rig toward the roll.

The polishing or scouring stones are here shown as being .slidably mounted on the guide bar so as to be moved automatically along the face of the roll as it rotates. Referring to Figs. 4, 5 and 7, two spaced stone holders or blocks 24 conveniently made of cast metal and each supporting an upper and lower stone 25 are removably mounted on the guide bar so that they can be quickly removed for cleaning the stones or they may be re laced by other blocks having clean stones. n this instance, each stone holder has a concave or substantially semi-cylindrical recess 26 in a central vertical web bearing against a slidably mounted spool 27 which has a convex or crown shaped bearing surface 28 to permit the stone holders to rock thereon and adjust the stones automatically to fit snugly against the roll surface.

The main idea of employing two vertically spaced stones in each stone holder is to insure proper scouring or polishing action when the abrading face of the upper one becomes glazed or coated with grease or oil. The upper stone will collect most of the oil or scum on the roll and clean it so that the lower one will polish the clean surface. Moreover, there is less liability of forming a scratch on the roll than there is if only one stone is employed. Also, the two stones adapt themselves better to the contour of the roll and the danger of spalling is practically eliminated.

Herein, the stone holders are so spaced that they move over or act on slightly more than one half the length of the roll, overlapping slightly at the center. The spool bearings are held spaced apart in this instance by means of a tubular spacer element 29 conveniently connected to the spools by reducer couplings 30, the enlarged ends of the couplings being slipped over the inner ends of the spools which have annular grooves 31 to receive set screws 32, (Figs. 4 and 5). Herein, both ends of the spools are alike so that they can be reversed or used interchangeably. Now, it will be understood that pipes or tubes 29 of different lengths may be kept on hand to change the distance between the stone holders to suit the lengths of different rolls, it being desirable that the polishing ranges do not overlap too much at the center of the roll and thus scour it too much at that place. One of the main advantages of using spaced stone holders, apart from the fact that the amount of travel is cut in half, is that they keep the guide bar parallel with the surface of the roll and thus contribute to more accurate and uniform polishing.

Since the lower roll is not subject to any appreciable vertical movements, the rig for polishing it requires no adjustment. The rig, in this instance, is supported on the frame 11 at the rear. The principal difference between the two rigs resides in the fact that the lower roll rig is supported by two curved arms 83 having notched ends 34 pivotally mounted on stub shafts or stud bolts 35, projecting inwardly from the frame members (Figs. 1 and 3). This rig is suitably weighted so as to exert suflicient pressure against the stones and the roll surface. Herein, a single weight 36 is suspended from the middle of a bar 37 connected to the two arms 33.

The stones on both rigs are operated or moved back and forth in opposite directions by means of a series of flexible wire cables and ratchet mechanism operatively connected to the wabble of one of the rolls. In this example, hooks 38 are secured to the spacer elements 29 and cables 39 trained over suitably arranged sheaves 40 and passing throu h openings in the frame 11 are connected to t e hooks, the effect being the same as if an endless cable were employed. The idea of employing the hooks is to permit the cables to be quickly detached so that the rigs can be removed when the rolls are to be removed or changed. One run of the cable preferably has a turnbuckle to take up any slack in it.

Referring to Fig. 2, there is shown a bracket 41 secured to the frame 11 and carrying the ratchet mechanism for operating the cable. This bracket carries a fixed stub shaft 42 on which is mounted an adjustable throw eccentric 43 carrying a ratchet wheel 44, Fig. 6, the eccentric preferably being diametrically slotted, and an adjusting screw 45 being employed to change its throw to suit the desired movement of the stones on rolls of different lengths. A lever 46 connected at its free end to the cable 39 is pivoted to the bracket and presents a roller 47 working in an annular groove 48 in the eccentric by which oscillatory motion is imparted to the lever and reciproeating motion to the cable.

The ratchet is here operated by a ratchet lever 49 pivoted on the shaft 42 and having a pawl 50 engagin the ratchet teeth. This lever is operated y a cam 51 having an integral bracket or flange 52 secured by means of stud bolts 53 to the wabble of the upper roll. This arrangement makes it very easy to apply the cam to any mill without any alteration. To prevent the eccentric from turning backwardly when the operation pawl is riding over the teeth of the ratchet, a holding pawl 55 is pivoted to a fixed arm 56 on the stub shaft 42. When it is necessar to remove the stone holders for cleaning or or replacement. the operating pawl may be disengaged and the ob may be quickly done without stopping the mill and involving an expensive delay. Then the operating pawl is again engaged for. continuous operation From the foregoing description, it Wlll be seen that the improved polishing or scouring rigs can be made of standardized relatively simple parts and are easily assembled and applied to a mill. Moreover, there are no rotating parts near the rolls or in the 1I1 l36I1S8 heat zone where adequate lubrication is almost impossible. Further, the operation of the mechanism is continuous and the stone holders can be changed when'the stones wear out or become glazed with practically no loss of valuable time. The adjustable rider arms suspending the rig for the upper roll permlts the stones to be applied to rolls at different diameters and compensates for stone wear and any variations in thickness of the top brasses. The whole rig can be easily and quickly removed from the mill to permit repairs or the rolls to be changed. Longer or shorter bars 17 are used to take care of rolls of different lengths. The stones on the rig for the upper roll are not subject to spalhng, due to their retaining a uniform relation with the vertically movable upper roll, at all times. Thus, the stones may be used until they are practically worn out. In short, the practical operation of an installation embodylng the invention has fully demonstrated its utility and proven its superiority over all other polishing rigs thus far offered to the rolling mlll industry.

Obviously, the present invention is not restricted to the particular embodiment thereof herein shown and described. Moreover, it is not indispensable that all the features of the invention be used conjointly, since they may be employed advantageously in various combinations and sub-combinations.

What is claimed is 1. In a polishing rig for sheet mill rolls, stone supports presenting guide bars ad acent to the roll surfaces; spaced spool-shaped bearing members slidably mounted on each bar presenting crown surfaces; and stone carrying holders having concave recesses resting against said crown surfaces whereby the stones may rock sufiiciently to adapt themselves to the contour of the rolls.

equalto substantially half the length of' the rolls; and stone holders loosely and removably mounted on said bearin members.

3. In.oa polishing rig for s ieet mill rolls, stone supports presenting guide bars adjacent to the roll surfaces; a pair of spoolshaped bearing members having crown surfaces slidably mounted on the bar; a tubular spacer on the bar removably'secured to the bearing members and holding them spaced at a distance equal to substantially half the length of the rolls; and stone carrying holders loosely supported on said crown surfaces.

4. In a. polishing rig for sheet mill rolls, stone supports presenting guide bars adjacent to the roll surfaces- 2. pair of spoolshaped bearing members having crown surfaces slidably mounted on each bar; and presenting grooves at their opposite ends; a tubular spacer element on each bar having fittings removably secured to the grooved portions of said spool shaped members and stone carrying holders loosely and removably mounted on the crown portions of said bearing members.

5. In a polishing rig for sheet mill rolls, supports presenting swingable guide bars suspended parallel with the roll axes and adjacent to the roll surfaces; arcuate stone holders slidably and removably mounted on each bar; spool-shaped bearing members for the stone holders permitting self-aligning movement thereof with respect to the rolls; and spaced stones carried by each holder having curved surfaces conforming to the rolls.

6.In a polishingrig for sheet mill rolls, supports removably mounted on the mill and presenting guide bars; stone carrying holders slidably mounted on the bars; cables operatively connected to the stone holders so as to reciprocate them on said bars; and a power driven, oscillating lever connected to the cables to impart a step-by-step motion to the stones along the rolls.

7. In a polishing rig for sheet mill rolls, supports removably mounted on the mill and presenting guide bars; stone carrying holders slidably mounted on the bars; cables opt,- eratively connected to the stone holders so as to reciprocate them on said bars; and adjustable-throw eccentric mounted on the mill frame; means to impart slow rotation to said eccentric; and a pivoted lever on the mill frame connected to be oscillated by the eccentrio and secured to one of said cables to impart reciprocating movement.

8. In a polishing rig for sheet mill rolls, supports removably mounted on the milland presenting guide bars; stone carrying holders slidably mounted on the bars; cables operatively connected to the stone holders so as to reciprocate them on said bars; an adjustable-throw eccentric mounted on the mill frame; a ratchet wheel connected to the eccentric; a power driven cam; a ratchet lever operated by the cam to impart step-by-step rotation to the eccentric; and a pivoted lever on the frame fastened at its end to one of said cables and connected between its ends to be oscillated by said eccentric.

9. A polishing rig for sheet mill rolls comprising, in combination, supports removably mounted on the mill and presenting guide bars adjacent to the rolls; spaced bearing members slidably mounted on each bar; tubular spacers separating the bearing members a distance equal to substantially half the roll lengths; stone holders supported on the bearing members; hooks on the tubular spacer members; cables connected to said hooks passing through the mill frame and trained over sheaves to constitute in effect an endless actu ator for reciprocating the stones; and ratchet operated mechanism including an oscillating lever secured to one run of the cable to impart step-b -step movement to the stones.

10. A polishing rig for sheet mill rolls comprising, in combination, supports removahly mounted on the mill and presenting guide bars adjacent to the rolls; spaced bearing members slidably mounted on each bar; tubular spacers separating the bearing members a distance equal to substantially half the roll lengths; stone holders supported on the bearing members; hooks on the tubular spacer members; cables connected to said hooks passing through the mill frame and trained over sheaves to constitute in effect an endless actuator for reciprocating the stones; ratchet mechanism including an adjustable-throw eccentric and an oscillating lever operated by the eccentric and secured to one run of the cable; and power delivering means connected to drive said ratchet mechanism.

11. In a polishing rig for sheet mill rolls, a supporting frame having arms suspended from the riders to move up and down as the top roll moves; a guide bar adjustably carried by said arms so as to be maintained in a definite relation with respect to the face of the upper roll; and polishing stones slidably supported on said bar.

12. In a polishing rig for sheet mill rolls; substantially horizontal arms pivotall and removably connected to the riders; L-s aped members pivotally connected to said horizontal arms intermediate their ends; one branch of each of said L-shaped members being vertical and supporting a guide bar; the other branches of said members being adjustably connected to said arms whereby to compensate for different roll diameters and wear and thereby maintain the bar substantially fixed with respect to the upper roll;

and a pair of stone holders removably and slidably mounted on said bar, said arms acting as Weighted levers to press the stones against the roll.

13. In a polishing rig for sheet mill rolls, supports removably mounted on the mill and presenting guide bars; stone carrying holders slidably mounted on the bars; cables operatively connected to the stone holders so as to reciprocate them on said bars; a cam removably mounted on one of the roll wabbles; a shaft secured to the mill housing adjacent to said wabble; a ratchet wheel and an eccentric on said shaft; a ratchet lever operated by said cam; and a pivoted lever connected to be oscillated by said eccentric and secured to one of said cables to impart a step-by-step movement to the polishing stones along the working faces of the rolls.

14. A polishing rigfor sheet mill rolls, comprising in combination, a supporting frame pivotally secured to the riders above the upper roll and having adjustable suspending arms in front of the upper roll; a second supporting frame pivotally secured to'the mill frame behind the lower roll; guide bars carried by said frames parallel with the roll axes; polishing stones mounted for reciprocation on said guide bars; and single driving meansconnected to impart step-bystep longitudinal movements to all of said polishing stones.

15. A polishing rig for sheet mill rolls, comprising in combination, a supporting frame pivotally secured to the riders above the upper roll and having adjustable suspending arms in front of the upper roll; a second supporting frame pivotally secured to the mill frame behind the lower roll guide bars carried by said frames parallel with the roll axes; polishing stones mounted for reciprocation on said guide bars; operating cables connected to both sets of stones; and a single source of power connected to the cables, all of the mechanism being so arranged as not to interfere with rolling operations.

In testimony, that I claim the foregoing as my own, I have hereto afiixed my signature.

ROY H. GROVE. 

